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The Inventor's Wife

BY

Heather Massey

EXCERPT

Elena approached the inventor’s workshop flushed with anticipation. She clutched a tray of savory food, stepping carefully to avoid wayward roots. The silver dinnerware clinked as she navigated the dirt path. Scents of roasted chicken and fresh baked bread rose from the plates.

Ahead lay the workshop. The enormous building—grey blue and built to complement the Georgian design of the main house—was flanked by dense forest on either side. Her father had ordered part of the grounds cleared especially for the inventor's needs. Lawrence Harrington, as usual, had grand plans. Plans, of course, that did not take his daughter's needs into consideration.

She brushed aside the distressing thought. Before her, the immense double doors of the inventor’s workshop yawned wide open. Her heart raced. What kind of devices resided within?

Miss Beaumont hadn’t questioned Elena at all when asked to surrender the tray. Elena gave silent thanks it was the new, young servant who had been ordered to deliver the food instead of Miss Farley, the head housekeeper. With her father away on business, now was the perfect time to investigate the inventor’s mysterious machines.

No answer. She didn't hear anything else, either. Had he stepped out? She surmised he might be somewhere in town purchasing supplies. All the better for her, then! Elena couldn’t wait to begin exploring.

She set the tray down on a nearby worktable. Tools, gears, and assorted instruments cluttered its surface. Elena promptly stuffed a small copper spring into the cuff of her sleeve. There were so many in the pile that Mr. Miller undoubtedly wouldn't miss it. She shivered at the way it hung so heavily in its new, secret place.

She took a moment to study her surroundings. The general layout was like nothing she’d ever seen. Industrial-sized windows flooded the place with natural light. There were two additional work tables, both as cluttered as the first.

Elena rushed over to them. Stacks upon stacks of scientific volumes were perched on the table, benches, and floor. They teetered precipitously, as if a mere sigh would topple them over. She brushed her finger across the embossed title of a thick, dark tome: Theoretical Applications Of Aether. She didn’t know what "aether" was, but it sounded utterly fascinating!

Measuring instruments lay scattered across a sea of paperwork. Some of the papers revealed the inventor’s notes, written in a neat, precise style. Others bore elaborate sketches and designs for mechanical devices. Elena grinned. She wanted to sit and look at them all day. But reality was something else altogether. Best finish exploring before someone discovers you.

She looked up from the papers and gasped. A daunting, giant metal head occupied a dais at the laboratory’s center, similar in design to Archimedes. Like a monster from a fairy tale, its eerie gaze seemed to peer right into her soul. Elena walked slowly around it. Wires and rods stuck out from the back, so the inventor must still be working on it. What was its ultimate purpose?

Other devices populated the laboratory. She strolled deeper inside to better satisfy her curiosity. Engines, half-finished automatons, large factory-type machines, construction tools, and a few she couldn’t identify lined the walls. Boilers of all shapes and sizes were stacked neatly in one corner. With each breath, she detected the tang of metal and the odor of grease.

In the far right corner, a wooden platform rose above everything else. Elena drank in the sight of two majestic brass wings perched on top. They were attached to some type of modified carriage and had a wing span of at leasttwenty feet. Heavens! Was he building a flying device?

Visions of soaring above the New England countryside filled her head. She spied a set of stairs winding up to the platform. She didn’t see any harm in sitting in the contraption for a spell. She lifted her skirts and took the first step.

Two hands closed upon her upper arms and yanked her back. "I think not!"

Elena cried out. Stumbling back, she would have fallen if not for the strong arms keeping her upright. She pulled away and whirled around.

The inventor stood before her, a frown marring his handsome features. "What are you doing here? This is private property."

"My father’s private property, Mr. Miller. May I please remind you that you work for him."

"So he won’t be surprised when I inform him of your visit." Mr. Miller crossed his arms. Only then did she become aware that he wasn’t wearing a coat. The way his muscles bunched beneath his white sleeves momentarily distracted her from his inventions. In fact, he looked quite smart in his gold ascot and waistcoat.

"I wouldn’t characterize it quite like that." Clearing her throat, she gestured at the tray. "Actually, I'm here for a reason. I brought your dinner."

"So I deduced from the odor of food." His brows drew together. "That’s a servant’s job. And you don’t have a chaperone. Have you no sense of propriety?"

Elena rolled her eyes. "Yes, but I also have a sense of fun. Don’t you?"

"Not when there are machines to design and devices to build. Work I must do—for your father, I might add. I doubt he'd take too kindly to you interrupting."

Elena smiled. "That depends on one's definition of interrupt. I view it more like exploring. What kind of machines are you building?"

Elena Harrington's widowed father rules her life with an iron fist. Even worse, he intends to force her into a loveless marriage in order to expand his business empire. An innocent bird trapped in a gilded cage, she can do naught but daydream about an adventurous life forever out of reach.

Elena resigns herself to a doomed existence until the day she meets her father's dashing new employee. Daniel Miller is a brilliant inventor who crafts extraordinary devices. His astonishing machines fill her with delight. What else might this mysterious inventor have in store?

Determined to find out, Elena begins visiting Daniel's workshop in secret. One hot, sultry night, he awakens her passion with all manner of sensual clockwork devices. Elena is certain she's discovered her soul mate. Then an unexpected danger threatens to derail not only their burgeoning romance, but also their very lives.

Reader Alert!Lock the doors and loosen your drawers because you're about to experience an erotic adventure in forbidden romance, kinky clockwork sex toys, and a delightfully dark twist on the Happily Ever After.

To My Readers:Thanks so very much for your interest in The Inventor's Wife!

About the Author: Heather Massey is a lifelong fan of science fiction romance. She searches for sci-fi romance adventures aboard her blog, The Galaxy Express, and is the Releases Editor at Sci-Fi Romance Quarterly, a free SFR digital magazine for readers. She writes about the genre for Heroes & Heartbreakers and Coffee Time Romance. Additionally, her articles have been featured in Germany's LoveLetter magazine and at sites like SF Signal, Dear Author, and Tor.com.

She’s also an author. Her stories will entertain you with fantastical settings, larger-than-life characters, timeless romance, and rollicking action. So sit back, relax, and pour yourself a cup of space java as the stories unfold. You deserve it.

When Heather’s not reading or writing, she’s watching cult films and enjoying the company of her husband and daughter.